April 22, 2004

I
bought Hawthorne to be a friend for my cavy
Ringo.
He has helped Ringo come out of his shell and behave more like a
"normal" guinea pig. However, Hawthorne is not so normal, either!!

When it is feeding time, Hawthorne is the only one of my three pigs that
does not "ask" for his food. Instead, he patiently sits in his cage in
the exact spot where their food dish always goes. This is one of the
only times that he will actually sit still.

This little guy should win the "Most Personality" Award. He is the most
explorative creature I have ever seen. He will only sit on my lap if he
thinks it is time to sit on my lap. Otherwise, he will bound away,
jumping, climbing, and sniffing everything in his sight. If I sit with
him on the couch, he will shimmy up the back couch cushions and run back
and forth along the top of the couch. When he is bored with that, he
will usually climb onto my shoulder, hop down into my lap, and explore
the rest of the couch. Once everything has been thoroughly examined, he
jumps onto the floor and tries to see what he can get away with down
there!! He is too funny.

Another patented Hawthorne move is his shoulder riding. Now that he has
gotten bigger he doesn't do it as often, but when he was younger he
would sit on my shoulder while I did everything -- including vacuuming!!
He will also stand on his hind legs while he is on my shoulder and try
to climb up to the top of my head. Thankfully, he has yet to
successfully execute that move.

Hawthorne's favorite toy is his hammock, and he sleeps in it often. He
also likes to scare Ringo by jumping down from the hammock right
alongside him. I have caught Hawthorne more than once on top of his
Timber-Hide-Away house. How he climbs up there is beyond me. He will
only eat hay from the top of his hayrack, as well. "Higher is better"
seems to be his attitude for everything.

While I bought Hawthorne more for Ringo than for myself, he has to be
one of the most personable pigs ever. Even friends of mine who aren't
interested in cavies think Hawthorne is adorable. He has been a great
addition to our household, and he keeps me in stitches watching his
silly antics.